Unintended Valentines
by kahhtina
Summary: A modern Mary/Matthew one-shot for Valentine's Day. Mary and Matthew meet for the first time at a party the day before Valentine's thrown by Sybil and Tom, where they spend some rather intimate time together. On the following day the evaluate their feelings for one another. I got the idea for this from an episode of The Office where Ryan and Kelly hook up on February 13th. Enjoy!


_Modern MM one-shot for Valentine's day. I got the idea for this from an episode of The Office where Ryan and Kelly hook up on February 13th, but that's about the extent of the similarity._

 _This got really long (sorry? lol) and I debated posting it in two parts, but here it is in it's entirety. Sorry I haven't updated any other stories for a while, I've been job hunting and this hit me with a bolt of inspiration._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 ** _Unintended Valentines_**

"I can't believe you hooked up with her on February 13th."

Tom's mirth was unmasked and slightly irritating.

"I hardly call it 'hooking up'," Matthew attempted, running a hand through his hair.

Sitting with his best mate in the cold light of a new day-Valentine's Day-Matthew wasn't up for a long discussion about the previous night. He cut through the pancakes the waiter had just brought to the table, surprised Tom had gotten away from his girlfriend for long enough to help him nurse a slight hangover.

"You made out with her for-how long?" Tom asked, grinning.

"We were drinking, it just happened," he replied, halfhearted. "I knew I should have said 'no' to a party thrown by you and Sybil."

"Hey, no one told you to drink that much. And, actually, you weren't that drunk," Tom interjected before shoveling some eggs into his mouth. "You only had three beers before I saw you slip away with Sybil's sister."

"Shots may have been involved," Matthew replied.

"One shot of vodka," Tom said, narrowing his eyes. "That was it. I gave it to you as a joke and you actually drank it. But that's hardly enough to take you down."

Matthew took a long drink of coffee so he wouldn't have to answer right away. "Fine, so what if it wasn't the beer? Maybe I just wanted to kiss her."

"The day before Valentine's Day?" Tom questioned, half in jest. "What's the matter with you?"

"I don't know," Matthew sighed. "Mary's attractive. She's single. What's so wrong with wanting to kiss her?"

"It's women, man," Tom said. "You know how they get around this day. You so much as look at a girl the wrong way and they think you're in a relationship. And you had to mess around with one-Sybil's _sister_ -the night before?"

Matthew very much doubted Sybil would like that kind of talk.

"It's your bloody fault for having a party on February 13th," Matthew shot back, annoyed again. He dropped his eyes down to his pancakes, remembering for a moment the sensation of Mary's hands in his hair, the warmth of her skin, her lips on his. He shook his head to dispel the memory.

"It was Sybil's idea," Tom retorted, sighing now. "No one told you to make out with anyone."

"Sorry, I didn't think I needed a formal invitation to make my own decisions," Matthew said, regretting his acceptance of Tom's offer for breakfast more and more. "What do you want me to do about it? Do you have a time machine? A direct number for Doctor Who?"

"You're beyond my help now," Tom said.

Matthew flicked a forkful of eggs at his friend.

* * *

"You and Matthew?!"

Sybil's squeal over the phone nearly deafened Mary.

"Shut it," she replied in a hushed tone even though her own apartment was empty. "I don't want Tom to hear."

"He's out. With Matthew, actually," Sybil replied, perkily. "Oh, my God, do you want me to text Tom? See what Matthew thinks about you?"

"Please don't do that," Mary begged, wrapping an arm around her legs as she pulled them to her chest in her seat on the sofa. "I don't want him to think that we're together or anything."

"Aren't you?" her sister asked.

"No!" Mary said quickly. "I don't think so, anyway," she added on.

To be honest, she had no clue. She'd only grudgingly gone to the party, had planned to slip out after an hour or so since she hated being at parties alone and everyone else seemed to be there with their significant other. Everyone except Matthew, it seemed. God, why did she have to make out with the only single man at her sister's party?

"Well, don't you think he's cute?" Sybil asked, fishing.

She hesitated.

"You know I just got out of a long relationship," Mary said finally, glad her sister couldn't see how pink her cheeks were.

"Oh, come off it, you and Tony broke up ages ago, and I'm still not convinced you really liked him much," Sybil said emphatically. "But answer the question."

"Yes, alright? God, you're annoying. Matthew _is_ cute," Mary broke, groaning into the phone. "And a really good kisser."

That last bit slipped out without her meaning to divulge it.

Sybil screeched, forcing Mary to pull the phone away from her ear.

"Can you not do that?" Mary asked, but Sybil barely heard as she started yammering again.

"This is so exciting," she said, giddy. "Are you going to call him?"

"On Valentine's Day, are you crazy?" Mary questioned. She did have his number, he'd given it to her before one last drunken kiss. "And make sure that he never talks to me again?"

"Oh, come on, it won't be that bad," Sybil said, "he's really nice."

"And I'm sure he'll turn me down, but in a really nice way," Mary replied, biting her lip.

Did she even want to call him? Sure, he was cute. Was a good...like fantastically good...kisser. And in the few minutes they talked before making out, well, he seemed genuinely interesting, even for a lawyer, but...

"I hate that you're spending tonight alone," Sybil said. "Just ask him out for coffee. Or go for a walk. The park is so pretty on Valentine's. They have musicians out and you can dance and-. Oh! Or you could-"

"Sybil, stop," Mary interrupted her baby sister, rubbing her temple in a circular motion. "I'm just going to stay in tonight, have a glass of wine, maybe watch some episodes of _Friends_ , and go to bed early."

"Don't do that," Sybil begged. "Have some fun! At least consider calling Matthew."

"I'll do nothing of the sort," Mary said. "Are you trying to make me seem desperate on Valentine's Day?"

"Of course not," her sister replied, her tone entirely unconvincing. "I just don't want you to be by yourself."

"I'll be alright," Mary insisted. "I'm a big girl."

"Oh, Tom just got back," Sybil said quickly. "We're going to the art museum and then to dinner and a movie."

"Well, have fun," Mary said, glad to finally have an out.

"Text me," Sybil requested and Mary murmured a lukewarm assent before the phones disconnected.

She sat on the sofa for a long time, eyes on her phone's blank screen before waking up the device and going into her contacts. Chewing on her fingernail, she easily found Matthew's name, but she didn't call him or even send a text. She merely stared at his contact information, toying with the idea of texting him a simple message. But in the end, she decided against it.

"I'm not that desperate," she muttered aloud, ignoring the fact that, well, she was. She hadn't had a date in months. Her last relationship had ended five months prior, to a man she was hardly interested in. Clearly, after last night, she was desperate.

But she wasn't going to prove it again. Not today.

She got up from the sofa, leaving her phone on the coffee table to prevent further temptation, padding over to the kitchen in her socks searching her cabinets for a bottle of wine.

"Blast," Mary murmured, not able to find any wine. And then she remembered she finished off her last bottle a few nights ago during dinner with Anna.

So, she wasn't desperate for a boyfriend. She was desperate for wine.

* * *

Matthew couldn't believe his eyes. He'd been making his way through the grocery store, where he was picking up a few things for his forecasted night in, when he spotted Mary in the cereal aisle.

At first, he thought his eyes were deceiving him, for she looked extremely underdressed compared to the night before, but adorable and oblivious as she hadn't noticed him. She wore her hair in a high bun on the top of her head, a big scarf around her neck, and sweatpants, like she hadn't planned on leaving the house. Her shoes looked like they could also be slippers, but Matthew wasn't well-versed in women's footwear.

What was he doing? He stood transfixed in the cereal aisle, wondering why he felt rooted to the spot and a pull to her at the same time.

She sighed as she looked at her options before reaching for a box of granola and slipping it into her basket and turned toward Matthew, her eyes widening as she saw him.

Feeling awkward and like he'd caught her off-guard, he slowly approached her.

"Hey," he said, shifting his basket.

"Hi," Mary said, visibly nervous. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Matthew asked. Stupid question, he knew, but he was surprised to see her so soon after talking to Tom.

"I had to get a few things," she replied and Matthew's eyes flicked down to her shopping basket. He saw the cereal, a bottle of wine, chocolates, a quart of ice cream, pasta, and sauce. Matthew knew his own basket was eclectically sparse: a six pack of beer, batteries, and two cans of soup.

"Me as well," he said, half-smiling. "You live around here?"

"Sort of," Mary murmured. _God, why did I leave the house in sweats?_ she thought to herself. She wanted to the floor to open up and swallow her whole. "I have about a fifteen minute bus ride."

Matthew nodded, his earlier conversation with Tom pushing into his thoughts again: _You so much as look at a girl the wrong way and they think you're in a relationship._

"Look, I wanted to-" he began, but Mary cut him off.

"You don't have to apologize about last night," she said hastily.

It was Matthew's turn to blush.

"Oh, I wasn't going to apologize," he told her sincerely.

Mary chewed on her bottom lip, her eyes mortified. _This conversation is not going well,_ she thought.

"Well," she began after a long pause, "sorry for interrupting you, then."

"Don't worry about it," Matthew said and Mary forced a tight smile.

"I should get going. The ice cream," she said, motioning to her basket.

Matthew's face warmed with embarrassment. "Yeah," he said, "yeah, see you."

And with another awkward smile, she slipped away.

* * *

It's not that Mary was trying to run away from him, although she was sure that it looked that way.

As she stood in the check-out line, she silently cursed herself for dressing so sloppily after her shower and for being a complete ponce back there. She emptied her basket as quickly as possible and paid for her items, hoping to get out of the store before seeing Matthew again. Mary doubted she had another awkward conversation in her.

But walking toward her bus stop, Mary glanced up to see the bus pulling away.

"Dammit," she groaned. Not only would she have to wait seven to eight minutes for the next bus in the cold, but she ran the risk of seeing Matthew again.

He appeared sooner than she thought he would.

In her first two minutes out of the shop, Mary kept looking over to the storefront to keep an eye out for him. As soon as she saw Matthew, her stomach and heart both gave simultaneous, and confusing, jolts.

She turned toward the street, dropping her eyes to the road and watching as cars drove by. Every footstep that drew near her made Mary's heart race faster, although she knew there were other people about on the pavement. She wondered why she was so nervous, he was just a man. She'd interacted with men, even kissed them before. But she'd never made out with one after knowing him for hardly half an hour.

And he was cute.

"God," Mary muttered under her breath, her mind wandering as she thought about the heat of his lips on hers, the sweet taste of his breath in her mouth, his hands roving across her body. She shivered.

"Hi, again."

His voice made her jump. She really wanted to melt into the nearby sewer grate then as she turned to look at Matthew again.

"Sorry, I thought you saw me," Matthew said, his smile endearing.

She really wished she hadn't run away from him in the store earlier.

"No, um, I was distracted," Mary replied honestly. She couldn't help but return his smile all the same.

Matthew's eyes sparkled, his smile widening as she spoke.

"Sorry about earlier," she added. "I don't usually behave so strangely."

He nodded and Mary looked away for a moment, her eyes flitting to his again over the top of the bag of groceries she held.

"I, uh, actually wanted to ask you something earlier," he said, looking rather uneasy.

"Oh?" Mary asked, her heart-rate quickening again.

"Are you...doing anything later?"

Mary couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Today?" she asked, surprise visible on her face. Sybil's squeal practically echoed in Mary's head. She forced herself not to mimic it. "You do know what day it is, don't you?"

"I've been told," Matthew replied. "But, I mean, it doesn't have to be like that. Just a, you know, casual date-type thing. We could get some coffee. Or there's an ice rink at the park."

"A casual date-type thing?" Mary questioned, voice teasing him.

"If you want," he said, a small grin on his face. "It beats my Valentine's plans."

"A six pack and soup?" Mary asked, remembering what was in his shopping basket as she gave him a wily grin. Matthew blushed and Mary saw her bus coming from a few blocks away.

"How about it?" he asked.

She bit her lip. "Alright," she agreed. "Say, around three? I'll text you my address."

Matthew's grin widened as the bus came to a stop.

"Sounds good," he said. "See you then."

Mary pressed her lips together, her eyes flicking down to his mouth before she hurried to get on the bus and not jump on Matthew right there in front of public transport and a busload of passengers.

Once she was on the bus, Mary dug her phone out of her purse, finding Matthew's contact information again in order to send him her address. Twenty seconds after sending her message, he replied with a smiley face. Mary's own grin mirrored the silly-looking emoji.

* * *

Matthew was incredibly nervous. He'd spent the last four hours showering, changing his outfit three times, his shoes twice, and parting his hair different ways in order to distract himself. He'd wasted about an hour and a half, settling on a simple dark blue button-down and khakis, the first outfit he'd picked out.

He finally got to Mary's apartment at five to three after stopping at a flower shop and purchasing a small bouquet of white daisies for her. He'd told her it was only a casual thing, but who was he kidding? He liked her. A lot.

And he'd ignored Tom's stupid voice in his head as he made the purchase. They were only daisies, not roses. _Tom can shove it,_ Matthew thought to himself.

Finding the apartment, he took a deep breath and knocked, holding the flowers down by his side in case he needed to throw them down the hall to get rid of the evidence. He tried not to count the seconds as they ticked by, but his heart thudding in his ears was nothing if not an accurate timepiece.

A few moments passed and the door opened, revealing Mary.

"Hi, there."

If Matthew thought she looked adorable at the store that morning, she was even more breathtaking now in an oversized purple sweater and leggings, her hair curled around her face. He debated kissing her on the spot.

Matthew's tongue felt too big for his mouth, but he attempted to speak anyway.

"These, uh, are for you," he stumbled, offering her the flowers suddenly.

"Wow, um," Mary said, taking them from him, "how lovely. Let me just put these in some water and we can go."

She hoped he couldn't see her blush as she retreated to the kitchen to find a vase. _What's your game, Crawley?_ she thought to herself.

"Come on in, it'll just be a second," she said aloud, hoping her voice sounded normal. She heard the door close and the sound of Matthew's shoes as he followed slowly after her.

"You've got a nice place," he observed, his obvious apprehension adorable to Mary.

"Thanks," she replied, finding a vase. "Sometimes the neighbors are noisy, but it isn't too bad. Rent's expensive."

"Isn't it everywhere?" Matthew asked and Mary looked up from filling the vase with water, not voicing what instantly came to mind: _not if you have someone to share it with._

She only said, "Around here, anyway." Matthew smiled and she slipped the flowers into the vase. "Thank you for these, you really didn't have to."

"My pleasure," he said, and Mary's extremities suddenly felt tingly.

"Shall we?"

Matthew nodded his agreement and they headed for the door again, Mary grabbing her coat and scarf on the way out before locking up.

They walked outside in silence, the nervous energy between them put Mary on edge.

"So, where are we going?" she asked finally, looking over at him.

"Oh," Matthew said. "I thought maybe ice skating. Do you skate?"

"I do," she told him and he smiled, although he still looked worried about something.

When they got to the rink, it was clear why.

"You don't skate," Mary stated, holding in a laugh as Matthew teetered on his skates by the wall.

"I do too skate," he retorted, shaky, "it's just been a while."

Mary moved to his side, tilting her head as she looked at him. "How long?"

"I might have been about...nine," Matthew said.

She smiled. "Here, take my hand," she said, offering it to him.

"But I'm really good friends with this wall," he replied.

Mary snorted. "Just hold my damn hand."

Matthew grabbed her hand with both of his, his legs and arms wobbly as his weight shifted.

"Try to stand up straight," she instructed, fearing he would take them both down. "Don't think about it so much. It's about balance."

"I don't have much of that," he said, unsteady.

"You'll be fine, come on," Mary said, tugging one of his hands free. "Relax, Crawley."

"Just don't let go," Matthew entreated and she gave him a small smile before urging him forward.

They moved pretty slowly for a long time, with Matthew gradually becoming more accustomed to the ice, although he couldn't stop from flailing around every once in awhile when he felt unsettled.

"You're doing really well," Mary told him.

"You just want to go faster," Matthew said, his grip tightening on hers for a second as he lost focus.

"No, I'm having fun," she said.

And truthfully she was. When she wasn't giving him skating tips, they were actually having an enjoyable conversation. She'd learned he was an only child. Grew up in Manchester and had known Tom since they were his dad had died when he was twelve.

And that she still found him ridiculously adorable.

"Who knew you could have fun with someone and not be making out with them?" she added.

At this, Matthew laughed out loud so hard that his legs wobbled uncontrollably and he crashed into her, sending both of them to the ground. Matthew lay sprawled across her, his cheeks turning pink from the chill of the ice and embarrassment at having caused both of them to fall.

"Sorry," he said, shamefaced.

It was Mary's turn to laugh, mostly at Matthew, as ice shavings littered his hair. She could only guess that she looked as silly.

"You're cute," Mary said without thinking.

Matthew stared down at her in silence, as though processing what she had said. Mary couldn't decide if it was good or bad.

In the end, he didn't say anything, simply rolled off her and tried to get up. Mary was on her feet first, offering him her hand once again.

"Use your knee," she told him, voice strained.

With a bit more struggling he was standing up, hair still full of ice shavings and still looking rather harried. He kept hold of her hand, but they didn't move right away.

"Maybe we should call it a day," she suggested, drawing away from him.

Instead of him following along beside her, Matthew pulled her back.

"Wait," he said, his eyes intense as he looked at her.

He repeated the word, but Mary didn't hear him, the thud of her pulse drowned out all sounds as Matthew leaned in and kissed her. She combed her fingers through his damp hair, realizing her memory of the night before had not done him justice. He was a much better kisser than she'd remembered.

She forced herself to pull away after a few moments, fearing they would topple to the ground again if they kept it up. _That_ wasn't something that could be done on ice.

"Wow," Matthew breathed, his forehead resting against hers.

"Yeah, you're really cute," Mary repeated, brushing her thumb across his cheek.

At this, Matthew chuckled. "I think I've heard that before," he said, his voice like velvet.

Mary's head felt deliciously unfocused as they stood like that for a long time, foreheads pressed together, Matthew hand holding one of hers while her other hand rested against his cheek.

"Do you want to get out of here?" he asked.

She desperately wanted to kiss him again, but refrained in case that caused him to topple over again.

"Don't you want to see if you missed your calling as an Olympic figure skater?" Mary questioned, pulling away, a playful smile on her face.

"You mean see how long it takes for me to break my leg?" Matthew countered, wobbling after her.

Mary laughed, leading him carefully off the ice.

"Let's not risk it," she agreed.

* * *

Ending up naked in Mary's apartment was never part of the plan.

After getting rid of their rented skates, they walked back to Mary's apartment together. He'd really had no intention of staying longer than a few minutes until she'd asked if he was hungry.

"There's a good Chinese delivery place near here," she said as she hung up her coat. "Do you like Chinese?"

"Love it," he replied, honest, although he was also glad to spend more time with her in whatever capacity.

"I'll find the menu," Mary said, giving him a smile that made his insides feel like warm mud. God, she was pretty.

Matthew draped his coat on the back of the sofa, watching as she disappeared into the small kitchen off her living room. He decided to make himself comfortable on the sofa, walking around it to take a seat as Mary returned with a few menus in her hand.

"Honestly, I can never remember if it's the _China Garden_ , the _China Wall_ , or the _Chinese Dragon_ ," Mary said, opening the two menus as she sat beside him, much closer than Matthew had anticipated. Not that he was complaining. She smelled like lilacs. "But one of them has the most amazing kung pao chicken and one gave me food poisoning, so-"

"Food poisoning bad," was all he could manage as he leaned in, pressing his lips to her cheek.

"I thought you were hungry," Mary said, not really sounding annoyed by his display of affection.

"Not so much," he told her, Tom's earlier warning a distant memory as Mary turned to face him.

"Maybe I could help you work up an appetite," she offered, stroking his hair with her fingertips.

Matthew released a ragged breath before kissing her again. He'd wanted to do it since they'd left the ice rink, but had restrained himself, had almost settled for a goodbye kiss when Mary had asked him if he was hungry.

He just had no idea what for.

If he had thought kissing her the night before, with only marginal amounts of privacy in Sybil and Tom's back hallway, had been exciting, and then that afternoon on the rink-well, this was something entirely different. Every moment Matthew spent with her, he wanted to be closer to her, to hold her in his arms, kiss her all over. Tom's stupid rules be damned.

That's how he found himself naked in Mary's bed, an equally naked Mary resting against his chest.

"This wasn't exactly how I thought today would go," he said, tracing his fingers down her back as he struggled to catch his breath.

She tilted her head up to look at him, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"You mean you didn't think you'd end up here in my bed?" she asked, shifting closer in order to press a kiss against the base of his neck.

"Never in my wildest dreams," Matthew replied in a shaky voice. "Tom will probably have my head for this."

"What do you mean?" Mary asked, her own thoughts flashing to Sybil. It was barely seven o'clock. She doubted she and Tom were even at the movie yet. She wondered how soon she would tell her of this.

"He bit my head off earlier for last night," he began, carefully treading as he spoke. He didn't want her to think he was just using her. "Said girls think that any romance near Valentine's Day equals a relationship."

Mary's body instantly stiffened against his, and Matthew knew his words had had the opposite effect of his intention. And then she rolled away, separating them with the duvet as she pulled it around herself.

"I'm not looking for a relationship either, Matthew," she said, the words pricking Matthew even as he knew she was stung herself.

"Mary, that's not what I meant," he insisted, sliding closer to her again. "Tom was acting like an arse."

She glanced at him for a moment, but tucked the blanket beneath her chin as she chewed on her bottom lip. He took that as an invitation to continue.

"But I really like you," he said, feeling both relief and paralysis as he spoke. "I swear, I wouldn't...let this happen if I didn't. I've never done anything like this before."

His face reddened as Mary looked at him, her eyes softening slightly.

"Neither have I," she replied, voice softer than before.

He found himself smiling at this, giddy with adrenaline and something he couldn't quite describe yet.

"I really like you, too," she added, tugging the blanket up so it covered her mouth now.

Matthew chuckled and leaned over to kiss Mary's forehead. She sighed, loosening her grip on the duvet before relaxing against him once more. He ran his fingers across her velvety smooth skin, reveling in the warmth of their bodies pressed together as Mary spoke again.

"It's the _China Garden_ that has the kung pao chicken that doesn't cause food poisoning. Oh, and really good egg rolls," she said, voice content.

"Sounds delicious," Matthew said, his stomach rumbling at the thought of food.

"Should I get the menu?" Mary asked, lifting her head to meet his gaze. "You sound as though your stomach could make the call itself."

He laughed, drawing her back to his chest. "In a while," he replied, his fingers stroking her hair.

Mary didn't mind waiting longer. To pass the time, she kissed him again.

 _Thoughts?_


End file.
